Teen often passed out from drinking, inquest told

James Webster died after drinking vodka at a party. Photo / Supplied

A teenager who drank himself to death at a party earlier this year regularly passed out after drinking, an inquest into his death was told today.

James Webster, 16, died on May 9 after he sculled from a bottle of straight vodka at a party at a Returned Services Club in the Auckland suburb of Grey Lynn.

James' parents, Charles and Penny Webster from Thames, didn't know he was at the party - he had told them he would spend the night studying at a friend's house. He was a Year 12 boarder at King's College.

An inquest into James' death began this morning at the Auckland Coroner's Court.

James' friend Danielle Carter, whose 16th birthday party James was at the night he died, told the hearing James did not look as if he had been drinking when he arrived at the party.

She said James had been drinking heavily since the beginning of this year and would tell her every second weekend he would go out and get drunk.

When she told him she did not like him drinking, he said he would slow down.

She was told he often became comatose with alcohol but she never saw him drunk before the party.

Danielle was told at the party James had had too much to drink and he was outside with her mother.

The next morning she learned James had died overnight.

"Mum opened the door and said 'get up, James has passed away and the ambulance is coming'."

Danielle's mother, Rachel Louise Carter, earlier told the inquest she knew James was dead as soon as she walked into the room where he had been put to bed after her daughter's party.

Ms Carter said she took James home from her daughter's 16th birthday party at the RSA because he was drifting in and out of consciousness, vomiting and moaning.

He was put to bed in the recovery position with a bucket beside the bed in her spare room and she last checked him about 2am to see he was still breathing and he was fine.

She checked him soon after 7am the next morning and knew at once something was wrong.

"He was... as soon as I walked in, I knew. It is hard to explain, you can sense death. The house had an eerie feeling and I went into the bedroom.

"As soon as I walked into the room I knew he was dead."

Ms Carter walked in and called out "James".

"He was cold, he was a bit stiff, he was dead." She touched his neck for a pulse and found nothing.

The court earlier heard James died from acute alcohol poisoning.

Sergeant Paul Black told Coroner Gordon Matenga that James arrived at the party about 7pm to 7.30pm and was soon drinking from a bottle that had been "secreted" into the building.

"He was seen by colleagues sculling back the contents of the bottle." He was soon rendered unconscious and was carried outside and placed in the recovery position. His condition was routinely checked, Mr Black said.

A parent decided to take him about 9.30pm to "sleep his condition off". He was last checked at 2am.

Mr Black said the alcohol in James' blood was measured at 391 milligrams of alcohol to 100 millilitres of blood, but police found no suspicious circumstances to his death.

Coroner Matenga asked him if the police used their discretion not to hold anyone liable for James death, even though the RSA didn't have a proper liquor licence.

Mr Black said that was correct and he believed the RSA would have been granted a licence if one had been applied for.